Sorry man, but that’s incorrect. As an American of Irish decent here I feel I need to point out the fact that the Celts and the Gauls were two distinct ethnic groups of ancient Europe.
As a matter of fact, Gaul DOES NOT equal Gael. The words themselves originated from different cultures more than a thousand years apart to describe different peoples.
Gael is derived from a Welsh word. It’s what the Welsh called my Irish ancestors. It didn’t enter into use until after the time of Christ.
Ya see, it was common practice for Irish youth back then to hop the water and wander over to Wales and England to have a bit of “fun”. All harmless stuff really; just a bit of cattle raiding, pillaging, the acquiring of any livestock or young women not nailed down. ;)
The Welsh word translates roughly as “Pirate” or “Raider”.
Gaul on the other hand is a different word entirely. It’s derived from ‘Gallica’, if I recall correctly, which is what the Romans called western Europe.
The Gauls as a people were distinct from the Celts as well (for a time anyway). As a matter of fact, in the late iron age there were a number of Gaulish tribes that had been subjugated by Celtic invaders.
>>>Sorry man, but thats incorrect. As an American of Irish decent here I feel I need to point out the fact that the Celts and the Gauls were two distinct ethnic groups of ancient Europe... Gaul DOES NOT equal Gael. The words themselves originated from different cultures more than a thousand years apart to describe different peoples.... Gael is derived from a Welsh word... Gaul on the other hand is a different word entirely. Its derived from Gallica, if I recall correctly, which is what the Romans called western Europe... The Gauls as a people were distinct from the Celts as well (for a time anyway). As a matter of fact, in the late iron age there were a number of Gaulish tribes that had been subjugated by Celtic invaders.<<<
SRONG!
Wikipaedia:
In English, the word Gaul (French: Gaulois) may also refer to a Celtic inhabitant of that region, although the expression may be used more generally for all ancient speakers of the Gaulish language (a derivative of early Celtic) who were widespread in Europe and extended even into central Anatolia by Roman times. In this way, “Gaul” and “Celt” are sometimes used interchangeably.
They obviously weren’t that distict. Gauls wore plaid kelts and played bagpipes.